The Business Strategy Analyst with Jules Nartey-Tokoli: Unlearning to progress

“The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.”—President John F. Kennedy

We live in an age of unprecedented change. Political systems are shifting, economies are being re-engineered, technology is redefining work, and long-held assumptions about education, leadership, and progress are being challenged daily.

Yet, in the midst of this rapid transformation, many individuals and institutions—particularly in developing societies—continue to operate with mindsets, structures, and practices shaped by a world that no longer exists. This tension between a changing reality and static thinking lies at the heart of many of our social, economic, and organisational challenges.

In Ghana and across much of Africa, the paradox is striking. We have more educated citizens than at any other point in history, greater access to information, abundant natural resources, and increasing exposure to global best practices.

And yet, unemployment remains high, basic infrastructure is unreliable, productivity is low, and public trust in institutions continues to erode. These outcomes force us to confront an uncomfortable question: could it be that our greatest obstacle is not a lack of knowledge, but an inability to rethink how we use what we know?

This article argues that meaningful progress—whether at the personal, organisational, or national level—depends less on accumulating new knowledge and more on our willingness to unlearn outdated ideas and relearn more relevant ways of thinking and acting. Change, while difficult and often resisted, is not optional. It is the price of development. And unless we consciously embrace it, we risk becoming highly educated participants in our own stagnation.

Digging Deep for Clues on Higher Ground

President John F. Kennedy’s insight — that “the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds” — resonates deeply in today’s world, where rapid information growth often outpaces our ability to make sense of it. In other words, the more we learn, the more we realize what we don’t yet know. This paradox reflects the profound complexity of the modern world, and highlights why continuous reflection and adaptability are more crucial than ever.

Change Is Challenging — But Essential

Change is one of the most difficult shifts humans face. Behavioural scientists explain that resistance to change is a natural psychological response rooted in fear of uncertainty and loss of familiar routines. This means that even when change is necessary, many instinctively shy away from it. Yet without change, progress — personal, organisational, or societal — remains elusive.

Even nature illustrates this dynamic: humans enter the world as dependent infants and through incremental changes grow into fully capable adults. Growth itself is, therefore, a series of adaptations over time.

This mirrors experiences across Ghana and Africa. For example, professional resilience — the ability to adjust, adapt and thrive amid change — has become a key competency in modern work environments. According to allAfrica.com, resilience involves “emotional intelligence, flexibility, and a growth mindset” that enables professionals to navigate setbacks and technological shifts in the workplace. (

Personal Change Requires Adjustment

Across personal journeys, whether it’s relocating, changing schools, entering higher education, starting work, marriage, or parenthood, change invites adjustment. How individuals respond to these transitions determines whether the outcome is positive or negative. Those who cling to comfort zones often make limited progress; resisting new experiences can hinder personal development.

In Ghana, for instance, the barriers within formal education — including outdated curricula and infrastructure challenges — mean that learners must often navigate complex transitions with limited support. The Ghana Report identifies that the educational system’s failure to prepare students for the modern workforce — with practical skills and critical thinking — restricts young people’s ability to adapt and thrive.

Organizational Change Is Inevitable

Just as individuals must change, organizations too must evolve or risk stagnation. Across the world, change rates exceed what any previous generation experienced. Politics, economics, society, and especially technology are reshaping expectations and operations.

At the organizational level, scholars emphasise that digital transformation, strategic redesign, and human adaptability are no longer optional. In the Ghanaian context, for example, the state water utility — the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) — has been implementing digital innovations such as geographic information systems (GIS), smart metering, and e-billing systems in response to longstanding inefficiencies in water delivery. Digitalisation aims to improve continuity, billing, and customer engagement, illustrating how organisations must adapt legacy processes to contemporary needs.

The Essence of Change: Unlearning and Relearning

To change — at personal and corporate levels — requires more than simply acquiring new information. It requires the capacity to unlearn old habits and relearn new ones. Alvin Toffler captured this by asserting that:

“The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

This idea is profound because the pace of change today is exponential. Traditional knowledge and processes become obsolete while new paradigms emerge. If individuals and organizations cling to outdated methods, they are likely to be overtaken by more agile competitors and environments.

As scholar John Seely Brown has noted:

“A lot of us who are struggling in large corporations know… the hardest task is to get the corporate mind to start to unlearn some of the gospels that have made them successful in the past and that no longer will actually work in the future.”

This observation reflects how legacy mental models — in organisations and societies — can impede meaningful transformation.

Why Conventional Wisdom Must Be Revisited

Many conventional beliefs that once served well no longer hold true. For instance, the widespread view that higher education primarily exists to secure a job or a prestigious title has limited value when it doesn’t translate into broader societal benefit.

Across Ghana and Africa, the growing disconnect between formal education and practical economic realities has been widely documented. Many graduates struggle with unemployment or work in fields unrelated to their degrees because curricula do not align with job market needs. Even when people hold multiple degrees, poverty, unemployment, and social challenges persist — showing that credentialism alone is not sufficient.

A more purposeful education would prioritise innovation, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and social impact, equipping learners not just to have degrees, but to apply knowledge creatively to address pressing societal issues.

Standing at the Edge of Awareness

What emerges from this reflection is not a lack of intelligence, talent, or even opportunity, but a deeper crisis of thinking. We have learned much—yet we have questioned too little. We have accumulated credentials—yet we have underutilised imagination. In many respects, Ghana and much of Africa stand not at the edge of collapse, but at the edge of awareness: aware that old explanations no longer suffice, and that familiar solutions are failing to deliver new outcomes.

The discomfort we feel in confronting these realities is itself a sign of growth. As Kennedy suggested, expanding knowledge inevitably exposes the limits of what we think we know. That exposure should not paralyse us; it should provoke humility, curiosity, and courage. Until we are willing to interrogate our assumptions—about education, work, leadership, productivity, and responsibility—we will continue to recycle answers that belong to yesterday’s problems.

Yet recognising the problem is only the beginning. The more difficult task lies ahead: translating awareness into action, and insight into reform. In the next part of this article, we will move beyond diagnosis to examine how outdated mindsets manifest in leadership, public institutions, and workplace culture—and how intentional unlearning can unlock innovation, accountability, and inclusive growth. The future will not be shaped by what we know, but by what we are willing to rethink.

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The author is a dynamic entrepreneur and the Founder and Group CEO of Groupe Soleil Vision, made up of Soleil Consults (US), LLC, NubianBiz.com and Soleil Publications. He has an extensive background In Strategy, Management, Entrepreneurship, Premium Audit Advisory, And Web Consulting. With professional experiences spanning both Ghana and the United States, Jules has developed a reputation as a thought leader in fields such as corporate governance, leadership, e-commerce, and customer service. His publications explore a variety of topics, including economics, information technology, marketing and branding, making him a prominent voice in discussions on development and business innovation across Africa. Through NubianBiz.com, he actively champions intra-African trade and technology-driven growth to empower SMEs across the continent?.

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